For the fourth time in their history, the Bills have been chosen to play in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, the annual preseason opener for the National Football League.

Buffalo will be opposed by the New York Giants, and the matchup is fitting as ex-Bills wide receiver Andre Reed and former Giants defensive end Michael Strahan are among the seven men being inducted into the Hall this year. The rest of the class includes Ray Guy, Claude Humphrey, Derrick Brooks, Aeneas Williams and Walter Jones.

The game will be played at 8 p.m. on Aug. 3 in Canton’s Fawcett Stadium and will be televised by NBC. The induction ceremonies will take place the night before at Fawcett on Aug. 2.

This gives the Bills one extra preseason game to evaluate players, and it also means training camp will start a week earlier than for the rest of the teams in the league. The official start date of camp at St. John Fisher College has not been determined, but last year, the Bills arrived in Pittsford July 27.

The Bills played in the Hall of Fame Game in 1974, 1989, and 2009, and lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Redskins and Tennessee Titans, respectively. The last time, both Bruce Smith and team owner Ralph Wilson were Hall of Fame inductees. The Giants played in the very first Hall of Fame Game in 1962 and later were invited in 1972, 1985 and 2002.

Ticket packages with prime seat locations to the Hall of Fame Game are on sale now exclusively through NFL On Location, the league’s official event experience and hospitality source. The all-inclusive ticket packages feature Gold Zone and Green Zone seating and include hospitality opportunities. Ticket packages may be purchased online through NFL On Location at ProFootballHOF.nflonlocation.com or by calling 877-611-3947.

Individual tickets will go on sale on March 25 at 11 a.m. and are priced at $54 End Zone, $64 Red Zone, and $69 Green Zone, and can be ordered online at ProFootballHOF.com/2014tix or by calling 877-464-9526.

Found an interesting item scouring the web today, from the Bucks County Courier Times regarding the Bills’ firing of linebackers coach Chuck Driesbach on Monday.

Driesbach spoke to reporter Tom Moore by telephone and expressed shock over his dismissal. He said he was called into Doug Marrone’s office and the head coach told him, “They just wanted to change the dynamic of the staff and they had to let me go. He said I hadn’t done anything wrong, shook my hand and I walked out of the office.”

Driesbach, who had spent the previous 36 years coaching in the college ranks before Marrone brought him to Buffalo last year, his first NFL job, was apparently hired largely on the recommendation of defensive coordinator Mike Pettine. Driesbach played for Pettine’s father, Mike, and when Driesbach was the defensive coordinator at the University of Pittsburgh, he gave the younger Petttine his first college job as a graduate assistant.

“I have no idea what happened,” Driesbach told Moore. “I don’t know if they felt like I did a (poor) job or somebody better became available. I don’t know and probably never will. It’s the bad part of the business.”

Driesbach, 61, went on to say that he truly enjoyed his one year in Buffalo. “The organization was absolutely fabulous,” Driesbach said. “That’s why it’s so crazy. It was a great experience. I was treated wonderfully by everybody in that building, then this bombshell fell.”

The firing of Driesbach is curious because Buffalo’s linebacking unit showed marked improvement this season over recent seasons. Kiko Alonso was third in the NFL with 169 tackles, and free agent signee Manny Lawson made an instant impact as the Bills improved in every key defensive statistical category.

To date, Driesbach is the only defensive coach who has not been retained by the team. The day after the regular season ended, wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard was fired after a year in which the top Bills wideout – Stevie Johnson – caught only 52 passes for 597 yards, while young receivers such as T.J. Graham and Marquise Goodwin combined for only 40 receptions and did not seem to make improvement as the season progressed.

The Bills made improvements in several areas on defense in 2013, but one that was still problematic was run defense. The Bills ranked 28th in the league after ranking 31st in 2012.

Still, the Bills got terrific play from rookie MLB Kiko Alonso who finished third in the NFL with 169 tackles, and from free agent acquisition Manny Lawson, so the release of Driesbach is somewhat of a surprise.

Driesbach just completed his first year as an NFL coach after 36 years in the college ranks including five (2007-11) as Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator at Rice University.

The Bills don’t have a big group of pending free agents this coming offseason, but they took one name off the list Monday when they re-signed defensive tackle Alan Branch to a three-year extension.

Branch joined the Bills as a free agent on a one-year deal, then became a starter in Week 4 after Alex Carrington went down with a torn quad muscle. Branch has been used in a variety of roles across the line, and while he doesn’t have a sack, he has played in a role in helping others get to the quarterback.

“It feels good just knowing that my future is secure for a little bit and not wondering what’s going to happen in the next couple months,” said Branch. “It’s a load off, and I’m on the team that I’m on right now.

Branch believes he is a good fit for the defense Mike Pettine is running. “I think schematically, this is one of the better defenses for me,” said Branch, who also played for Arizona and Seattle. “I’m a quicker big fellow. I can get penetration and I can keep the offensive linemen on their toes, so that goes toward my strengths a lot.”

Another key factor is that Branch is happy in Buffalo, which he believes is a great place to raise a young family. “I like the team and I wanted to be here. This was an easy decision for me to stay, I like the area and the team.”

Coach Doug Marrone was obviously happy with the re-signing.

“He’s a big boy guy,” said Marrone. “When you look at the guys up front, you look at the production of Kiko (Alonso) as our middle linebacker, a lot of that production is because of the guys up front. They’re taking on blocks and not letting anyone get on them and Alan has done a great job with that. We’re happy to have him as part of this team going forward.”

The tumultuous rookie season of quarterback EJ Manuel took another downward turn Wednesday when coach Doug Marrone announced that Manuel would miss Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins.

Manuel hurt his left knee – the one he injured in training camp – late in the first half against Jacksonville. Although he finished the game, he had swelling on Monday. Marrone originally thought Manuel would be fine to resume practice Wednesday, but he was not, so the decision was made to shut him down for the week. Thad Lewis will start in his place.

“I’m excited about this opportunity for Thad,” Marrone said. “He had success against them the first time.”

Lewis started and beat the Dolphins in Miami while Manuel was sidelined with a right knee injury that he suffered against Cleveland. completed 21 of 32 passes for 202 yards with an interception in Buffalo’s 23-21 victory.

Marrone also said that he believes wide receiver Stevie Johnson will miss the game as he grieves following the death of his mother. Johnson is back home in Northern California.

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For the best and most recent up-to-date coverage of the Buffalo Bills, the Bills Eye blog will be the place to be. Our coverage will be led by beat writer Sal Maiorana, who has covered the Bills full-time since 1990, and he will provide live updates throughout the season from training camp at St. John Fisher College, from practices at One Bills Drive, and from all games home and away. Sports columnist Leo Roth will also add perspective he has gleaned from more than 25 years of covering the team, and staff writers and editors including Steve Bradley, Mark Dwyer, Scott Norris and Todd Clausen will add content whenever news breaks via posts or tweets.